Cinthia Murphy, Managing Editor, ETF.com
With the last quarter of 2019 underway, a look at the best-performing ETFs of the year shows a diverse list of strategies tapping into everything from metals to semiconductors to China.
At the top is the Market Vectors-Indian Rupee/USD ETN (INR), a $1 million product that has shelled out a massive 115.3% gain so far this year.
There’s nothing run-of-the-mill about this performance because this massive run-up is not linked to a similar rally in the rupee. Instead, INR is trading at a massive premium due to a halt in creations.
At the No. 2 spot is another small product, the $9 million iPath Series B Bloomberg Nickel Subindex Total Return ETN (JJN), with a 66.8% return as nickel prices hit a five-year high.
This industrial metal strategy is only one of several metals-related ETFs among the top performers. With spot gold prices up almost 18% this year, gold miner ETFs—the U.S. Global GO Gold and Precious Metal Miners ETF (GOAU) and the iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (RING)—are up about 37% each.
Best-Performing ETFs Of 2019 (excluding leveraged/inverse)
Data measures total returns for the year-to-date period through Oct. 2.
To put some of these gains into perspective, consider that the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is up 17.8% this year.
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